Art Directors Guild Adds Three For Lifetime Achievement Honors

The Art Directors Guild said that scenic artist John Moffitt, set designer James J. Murakami and senior illustrator Martin Kline will join previously announced production designer Norm Newberry as recipients of the guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The honors will be bestowed January 27 during the 22nd annual ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Hollywood.

Moffitt, a muralist who teamed with Garth Benton to create work for the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, was lead artist for Warner Bros’ feature Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events and his credits include Ghostbusters, Iron Man and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He was the guild’s Associate Executive Director from 2006-2014 before he retired.

Murakami, a frequent collaborator with Clint Eastwood, was Oscar nominated in 2008 for The Changeling, and won an Emmy as art director on HBO’s Deadwood. His credits include Gran Torino, Invictus, J. Edgar, American Sniper and Sully.

Kline’s visual effects, concept illustration, character design and storyboard work has been used on films including Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump, 2002’s Spider-Man, Polar Express and Beowulf. (2007) and many other notable films. He was managing art director at Sony Pictures Imageworks from 1995-2007 where he teamed with the likes of Bob Zemeckis, Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg.